Indonesia has so many problems on its back but yet, the one it wishes to pursue is a meaningless allegation that Malaysia has stolen the folk song of Rasa Sayang from Indonesia, if that is possible at all. It would be like the Brits accusing the US of stealing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from the people of Great Britain!
It is unfortunate how some people fail to recognize that the history of this region did not develop separately before the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 and subsequent inorganic political demarcations that made possible the formation of modern states such as Malaysia and Indonesia, among others, in the 20th century. This historical development means that there are shared cultures between various countries in Southeast Asia, especially between Malaysia and Indonesia.
Are Indonesian nationalists too blind to see that?
5 replies on “[1394] Of rasa sayang eh, rasa sayang sayang eh!”
[…] only came into existence in the 1820s by virtue of the 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty. Let us ignore that culture spread and shared by lands what are now called Indonesia and Malaysia. Let us ignore too that many Indonesian […]
Don’t worry, when time pass, Malaysia will “cleanse” Rasa sayang for political correctness in cultures.
similar to the dispute btwn china & korea when the Koreans claimed that dragon boat festival are theirs.
Thats a shame really. Instead of pointing out the similarities between us, we continue to build more hate.
Maybe we all should be singing this song together. Just maybe, I don’t know?
it is very difficult to understand hati budi of indonesians. They claim everything “malay” as theirs: wayang kulit, songkok, batik. What they do not know is wayang kulit is also played in India (perhaps originated from that sub-continent). Kalau lepas ni diorang claim melayu kita ni milik depa, tak tahu la nak cakap apa….